Hannah Gardner, Sasha Gold, Emma Kilbane, & Allie Loiselle What we learned:
Kozol's underlying them of racial inequality throughout public schools in the cities of the United States is ever apparent in New York City during the late 1980s. The New York City public school system is the largest in the United States with 1,600 schools providing education for about 1.1. million students. In the 80s, Kozol visited schools in District 10 in the Bronx and he notes some of the most horrendous conditions that children had to learn in. Has any of this changed in the past 20 years? Where is Morris High School now? And what about Public School 194 and Public School 261, just to name a few? The Morris High School Campus is now home to five different high schools - High School for Violin and Dance, Bronx Leadership Academy 2, Bronx International High School, The School for Excellence, and The Morris Academy for Collaborative Study. As for PS 194, school reports show much improvement in the past years as to student, parent, and teacher satisfaction as well as an increase in academic performance. Unfortunately though, not every school has been able to make improvements like Morris High School and PS 194. For example, PS 261 was shut down in 1992. These are just vague facts that seem to show much hope for the New York City public schools but is it really an improvement?
The Morris High School Campus is now home to five different schools that serve students in the Bronx. In this district, 99% of the children live in high poverty and 52% live below the poverty line. It is one of the poorest districts in the United States of America. Of all the adolescents in the area, 22% have difficulty speaking English, 20% will be college dropouts, and 20% are not attending school regularly or are working. A group of teachers, faculty members, and parents decided that these statistics need to change in the future so they decided to form The Morris Academy for Collaborative Studies, The Bronx Leadership Academy II, Bronx International High School, The School for Excellence, and the High School for Violin and Dance. Each school has its own mission and own specialty that allows children to pursue their passions.
The mission for the Morris Academy for Collaborative Studies is to have students learn through projects that are relevant to their lives. The students work on projects together in small groups that they ultimately decide to pursue. Similar to The Met School located in Providence, Rhode Island, the curriculum for this school is individually based on each student's interests. According to the Academy's website, the students there "learn by doing". This is an improvement from what Kozol saw during the 1980s, especially considering the statistics that say the average class sizes are about 17 to 23 children per teacher. Unfortunately though, there is still a lot of emphasis on vocational learning as opposed to college preparatory learning. The next school discussed seems to be geared more towards a college prep education.
The Bronx Leadership Academy II is a sister school to the original Bronx Leadership Academy. On the school's website, the mission is to provide children in the Bronx with a "science-based college prep education". Most of the faculty members are passionate about education considering many are graduates from The Brown School of Education and The Harvard School of Education as well as recent members of the Peace Corps. All of the students must follow a strict dress code, which gives the students more self-respect and pride in their education. Two of the programs the school offers that are very appealing to college admissions boards are the Senior Internship Program and the College Now / Jump Start Program. Every senior in the school is given the opportunity to intern in the business field, the science field, or the art field for a semester. As for the College Now / Jump Start Program, students are given the opportunity to earn college credits while in high school by taking courses at Monroe College or Hostos Community College. The curriculum provides opportunities for the students to see that there are many different career and educational opportunities once they graduate from high school. Hopefully, many of the graduates will utilize those opportunities after graduation. Below is a link to the school's website with pictures from the Spirit Week they had last school year (2008). Bronx Leadership Academy II Spirit Week 2008
The High School for Violin and Dance offers unique opportunities to students interested in the performing arts. Although the school puts an emphasis on violin and dance, students are also required to take classes that will set them on the path to college such as mathematics, English, foreign language, and technology. The student population appears to be an intelligent, dedicated group of individuals. Interesting Tidbits and Accomplishments of the Students at HSVD
While students who enjoy the performing arts enroll at HSVD, many recently immigrated students in the Bronx end up at the Bronx International High School. The main focus of this high school is to ensure that the students become proficient in English, and "active participants in today's interdependent diverse world." It is interesting to see that there is an entire high school devoted to immigrated young people. I think it is probably beneficial for these individuals to be placed in a school together, that way they will each deserve the attention they need in order to succeed in the United States. The school, like the high schools, offers an array of very interesting internships that will provide experience in different professional areas. I can't determine whether this high school is really geared towards college, however. There is no mention of preparing students for college; it talks more about preparing individuals to "be advocates for themselves and their communities."
Lastly is the School for Excellence, where the emphasis is on academics, and innovation and creative thought is definitely encouraged. This school is one hundred percent geared towards the students success in higher education. Students are required to complete a portfolio and a number of in depth projects in order to graduate. It seems as though the school is very concerned with the students future success, which is fantastic.
New York City Education - The Bronx
Hannah Gardner, Sasha Gold, Emma Kilbane, & Allie Loiselle
What we learned:
Kozol's underlying them of racial inequality throughout public schools in the cities of the United States is ever apparent in New York City during the late 1980s. The New York City public school system is the largest in the United States with 1,600 schools providing education for about 1.1. million students. In the 80s, Kozol visited schools in District 10 in the Bronx and he notes some of the most horrendous conditions that children had to learn in. Has any of this changed in the past 20 years? Where is Morris High School now? And what about Public School 194 and Public School 261, just to name a few? The Morris High School Campus is now home to five different high schools - High School for Violin and Dance, Bronx Leadership Academy 2, Bronx International High School, The School for Excellence, and The Morris Academy for Collaborative Study. As for PS 194, school reports show much improvement in the past years as to student, parent, and teacher satisfaction as well as an increase in academic performance. Unfortunately though, not every school has been able to make improvements like Morris High School and PS 194. For example, PS 261 was shut down in 1992. These are just vague facts that seem to show much hope for the New York City public schools but is it really an improvement?
The Morris High School Campus is now home to five different schools that serve students in the Bronx. In this district, 99% of the children live in high poverty and 52% live below the poverty line. It is one of the poorest districts in the United States of America. Of all the adolescents in the area, 22% have difficulty speaking English, 20% will be college dropouts, and 20% are not attending school regularly or are working. A group of teachers, faculty members, and parents decided that these statistics need to change in the future so they decided to form The Morris Academy for Collaborative Studies, The Bronx Leadership Academy II, Bronx International High School, The School for Excellence, and the High School for Violin and Dance. Each school has its own mission and own specialty that allows children to pursue their passions.
The mission for the Morris Academy for Collaborative Studies is to have students learn through projects that are relevant to their lives. The students work on projects together in small groups that they ultimately decide to pursue. Similar to The Met School located in Providence, Rhode Island, the curriculum for this school is individually based on each student's interests. According to the Academy's website, the students there "learn by doing". This is an improvement from what Kozol saw during the 1980s, especially considering the statistics that say the average class sizes are about 17 to 23 children per teacher. Unfortunately though, there is still a lot of emphasis on vocational learning as opposed to college preparatory learning. The next school discussed seems to be geared more towards a college prep education.
The Bronx Leadership Academy II is a sister school to the original Bronx Leadership Academy. On the school's website, the mission is to provide children in the Bronx with a "science-based college prep education". Most of the faculty members are passionate about education considering many are graduates from The Brown School of Education and The Harvard School of Education as well as recent members of the Peace Corps. All of the students must follow a strict dress code, which gives the students more self-respect and pride in their education. Two of the programs the school offers that are very appealing to college admissions boards are the Senior Internship Program and the College Now / Jump Start Program. Every senior in the school is given the opportunity to intern in the business field, the science field, or the art field for a semester. As for the College Now / Jump Start Program, students are given the opportunity to earn college credits while in high school by taking courses at Monroe College or Hostos Community College. The curriculum provides opportunities for the students to see that there are many different career and educational opportunities once they graduate from high school. Hopefully, many of the graduates will utilize those opportunities after graduation. Below is a link to the school's website with pictures from the Spirit Week they had last school year (2008).
Bronx Leadership Academy II Spirit Week 2008
The High School for Violin and Dance offers unique opportunities to students interested in the performing arts. Although the school puts an emphasis on violin and dance, students are also required to take classes that will set them on the path to college such as mathematics, English, foreign language, and technology. The student population appears to be an intelligent, dedicated group of individuals.
Interesting Tidbits and Accomplishments of the Students at HSVD
While students who enjoy the performing arts enroll at HSVD, many recently immigrated students in the Bronx end up at the Bronx International High School. The main focus of this high school is to ensure that the students become proficient in English, and "active participants in today's interdependent diverse world." It is interesting to see that there is an entire high school devoted to immigrated young people. I think it is probably beneficial for these individuals to be placed in a school together, that way they will each deserve the attention they need in order to succeed in the United States. The school, like the high schools, offers an array of very interesting internships that will provide experience in different professional areas. I can't determine whether this high school is really geared towards college, however. There is no mention of preparing students for college; it talks more about preparing individuals to "be advocates for themselves and their communities."
Lastly is the School for Excellence, where the emphasis is on academics, and innovation and creative thought is definitely encouraged. This school is one hundred percent geared towards the students success in higher education. Students are required to complete a portfolio and a number of in depth projects in order to graduate. It seems as though the school is very concerned with the students future success, which is fantastic.
Links
TIME article - Do the Poor Deserve Bad Schools
Morris High School Campus
Discussion Board, Morris High Alumna discuss the school
District 10 does not have the means for a new school to relieve overcrowding. 2008
Two Bloomberg Schools (in the Bronx) are being cited for poor performance. If they don't clean up their act, both schools could be shut down.
Links to the five new high schools
What we knew previously to conducting research:
Notes from Reading: